


feel the salt in the air against your face

by stvrmhondss



Series: the magicians x narnia [2]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, The Magicians (TV), The Magicians - Lev Grossman
Genre: M/M, author uses italics too liberally, eliot is one pining mf, margo is both amused and tired of his bs, no beta we die like men, queliot still pre-relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24387406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stvrmhondss/pseuds/stvrmhondss
Summary: But alas he was but a man in a fairytale land that wasn’t his, on a ship of a soon-to-be king that was vigorously flirting with the man he was slowly and steadily falling in love with. Life fucking sucked sometimes.or Caspian has a ship. Eliot works through some feelings and pines a whole lot.
Relationships: Caspian (Narnia)/Quentin Coldwater, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Series: the magicians x narnia [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759528
Comments: 11
Kudos: 50





	feel the salt in the air against your face

He should’ve known that this would happen. The second the word ‘ship’ had left Caspian’s mouth and Quentin’s eyes had lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree, Eliot should’ve known that he would end up here.

Because of course he had a ship. Of fucking course did this straight-out-of-a-fairytale prince have an absolutely majestic ship. Because this was Eliot’s life and his atrocious luck. Fucking figured.

It’s not as if Margo wasn’t already laughing at him as it was. After her initial annoyance she had quickly switched to elevated amusement when she had seen the flirtatious looks and conversations Caspian was continuously throwing Quentin’s way while he blushed and stuttered and honest to god giggled. Eliot couldn’t even remember the last time that he had made Quentin giggle. Was it after the coronation? In the Armory, when he had talked about inventing champagne and had called himself the champagne king, and Quentin had hugged him? Or was it before that? Up in Margo’s room, after they had too much wine and too much magic, when he had kissed Quentin right behind his-?

Best not to think about it. There was only pain and misery down that road.

So, now he was on the ship. The ‘Dawn Treader’, because of course that’s what it was called. He had never read the Narnia books as a child – he had been more of a tv show and movies kind of kid and movies had never been made of it – and neither had his favorite nerds since they had been enraptured by the Fillory books. Eliot just really hoped that C.S. Lewis hadn’t been another Plover. He didn’t think he could handle that.

They were doing a ‘sight-seeing tour’ of Narnia’s ‘great bays’ because while Caspian’s scholars – they guy really had fucking _scholars_ – were researching to find a solution for Penny’s little orientation problem, they ‘might as well take the chance to see the land they’ve mysteriously stumbled upon’. After he had proclaimed this, Caspian had turned to Quentin and winked at him. Eliot had had the sudden urge to violently vomit all over his stupid cape.

Before going aboard, Margo had pulled him aside to talk to him. Eliot had been too distracted watching Caspian lead Quentin by his hand over the gangway. Holding hands had seemed to be another thing they were doing now. He had wanted to break something.

Only then had Margo’s voice registered.

“Are you even- Hey! Pay attention when I’m talking to you!”, she had reached up and grabbed him by his chin to turn his head down towards her. “Fucking hell, El, you need to get your head out of your own twat.”

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re referring to.”, he had retorted, if not very convincingly.

“Oh _please_ , if I have to watch you stare at Prince Charming’s head as if you want it to explode for one more minute, I _will_ take my chance with Lord Uber’s fucked GPS and get the fuck out of here.”

“I’m doing no such thing, Bambi, _please_.”

She hadn’t looked very impressed and admittedly, Eliot hadn’t even really believed himself. Possibly, he had been doing just that. Watching Caspian’s head explode would’ve been a very satisfying view though, if a bit grimy. His expression must’ve turned sour because Margo had shaken his face by the grip she still had had on his chin.

“Eliot, you need to chill. So, Tall, Dark and Handsome is flirting with your nerd. So what? Nothing’s gonna come of it. We’re only here until we find a way to give Penny’s inner Dora The Explorer a fucking map and then we’re outta here. Far away. Never to return again.”

Eliot had only grumbled in response.

“Baby, don’t be a baby. You know I’m right. What’s the worst that’s gonna happen? Caspian gets a smooch out of our little nerd. Please tell me you’re a grown boy who can handle the boys he’s pining after kissing other boys.”

“I’m not pining…”, in return to his perpetual denial she had pinched him. “Okay, so what, maybe I am. Maybe I’m pining after Quentin after a night of passion gone wrong. Admittedly not my brightest moment but it is what it is. Doesn’t mean I have to be happy about Prince fucking Charming basically drooling all over him!”

“Okay, fine. Then be like that but don’t expect me to entertain you when you’re this huffy.”, she had retorted, finally releasing his chin. After he had stood up straight again, he had heard his neck pop in protest.

“And one last thing: You and I both know that you’ve been pining after Baby Q like a Jane Austen heroine for much longer than after our little rodeo.”, and with that she had pushed past him up the gangway.

Which brought Eliot back to the present, where he was standing at the railing on the left side of the ship, watching the ocean run by. Up ahead Alice was standing at the bow, the first mate of the Dawn Treader explaining to her the history of Narnian ship making, how the prince – soon to be officially crowned king, apparently – had reignited the love for traditional shipbuilding and how he had re-taught the Narnians after centuries of oppression. Of course he had, goddamn Mr. Perfect.

On the opposite side of the ship was Margo, standing at the railing with her back towards him and looking out onto the horizon. She had been serious when she told him she wouldn’t entertain his sour mood.

Penny sat up high in the crow’s nest, staring into the distance and presumably hoping to get back on dry land soon. When the Dawn Treader had slipped out of the harbor, he had suddenly gotten seasick and gripped the railing for dear life.

As it turned out: Penny Adiyodi, not one of the seafaring folk. Who would’ve thought?

Eliot was past pretending as if his gaze didn’t keep turning back to Quentin and Caspian. They were standing on the upper deck at the stern, behind the wheel, where Caspian appeared to show Q how to navigate the Dawn Treader. He really couldn’t help himself, what with their voices and their laughter being carried over to him by the wind every now and then.

So. It could be that Margo was right, as always. Perhaps Eliot had been already pining after Quentin before the catastrophic threesome. Before the disaster with Mike. Before the Beast had been hunting them all. In fact, he was pretty sure that after Quentin had stumbled out of the bushes and over the lawn to him at Brakebills on the day of the exam he had been a goner. He was also pretty sure that Margo was never going to let him live down how right after he had escorted Quentin to the exam he had run to her and genuinely gushed about how cute Quentin had been, in his ill-fitting suit, ugly sweater and no-longer-artfully tousled long hair. How he had immediately tried to impress him with their campus tour, leading him around the grounds with his best girl on his arm and telling him all the gossip. How, despite himself, Eliot had opened up to him without a second thought, Quentin’s earnestness almost demanding utter honesty in return.

Then he had promptly fucked it up of course, with their tragical threesome, as was expected. In the beginning he was surprised Quentin could still meet his gaze but Quentin himself looked to be nearly unbothered by Eliot’s presence, as if he still wanted him around. As if maybe, Eliot had not scared him away completely. At that his thoughts turned to their coronation, a regular occurrence in the past few weeks.

The way Quentin had insisted on making it a Thing. The way he had told him to kneel with this look of determination in his eyes, like if you just listened to him, everything would turn out alright. Eliot had decided then and there that he would follow Quentin Coldwater to the end of the world. He had been ready to jump off that cliff.

If he closed his eyes, he could still picture it, crystal clear: Quentin standing in front of him, crown in hand with the most awestruck look in his eyes Eliot had ever seen. Quentin telling him that somehow him being High King made _sense_ and that he was going to be really _good_ at it. Quentin tearing up and him tearing up in return. Eliot, a man drowning at sea, finally coming up for air.

A laugh rang through the air and ripped him out of his thoughts. He turned towards the stern of the ship once more and looked up.

‘ _Well, whatever happened at the coronation seems to be over’_ , he thought as he watched Quentin give Caspian a bright smile. ‘ _Look at him now._ ’ What Eliot wouldn’t give for that dimply smile to be turned towards him.

But alas he was but a man in a fairytale land that wasn’t his, on the ship of a soon-to-be king that was vigorously flirting with the man he was slowly and steadily falling in love with. Life fucking sucked sometimes.

“Pining after Coldwater isn’t a personality trait. Fix your fucking shields, man!”, Eliot whirled around to find Penny glaring at him, clearly pissed with a slightly green complexion.

“Fucking hell, Adiyodi, do I need to get you a fucking bell?”, Penny flipped him off in response.

He turned back around just in time to see Caspian gently move Quentin in front of him, so he was standing directly behind the wheel, and wrap his arms around him from behind, enclosing Quentin’s hands and smoothly guiding his movements steering the wheel. Quentin blushed furiously, which Caspian must’ve seen because he started to grin to himself. Eliot was going to throw him overboard into the ocean.

“This is ridiculous”, he muttered, “What does he have that I don’t?”

Penny moved to stand beside him.

“Let me see…A crown? A boat? Luscious hair?”

“I- Excuse me? How dare you?!”

At that, Penny started cackling and walked away from him and towards Alice at the bow. He saw him stumble, his seasickness getting the better of him for a moment. Eliot pettily hoped he had to vomit at least another two times.

**Author's Note:**

> so, number 2 is out. this is a Thing now.
> 
> btw, if it wasn't clear enough: this au is set after they defeat the beast but alice didn't niffin out because she deserves some gang shenanigans gdi.
> 
> again, you can check out the highlight with our au videos here: https://twitter.com/i/events/1264638104385646593
> 
> for general magicians x narnia screaming look to @sophistray @wow__then and me, @tinybaekhyuns on twitter.


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